Opinion
Column

Time to pay closer attention to Africa

Nigerian soldiers sit in military trucks at the airport in Nigeria’s northern state of Kaduna before leaving for Mali on Jan. 17. When French and Malian forces eventually put down the rebellion, writes columnist Geoffrey Johnston, Ottawa and Washington should redouble their efforts to stabilize the region through closer political, economic and security co-operation.

Despite being both the most powerful nation in the world and the architect of the international system, the United States occasionally goes through periods of self-absorption, leaving it behind the times.

For most of his first term in office, President Barack Obama was understandably preoccupied with America’s massive economic problems. And he was too busy to appreciate the growing strategic importance and economic potential of Africa, allowing China to eclipse America’s influence in many mineral rich developing countries.

Not that long ago, many of the economies of Latin America were basket cases, plagued by government corruption, high inflation and unsustainable deficits. But by 2009, the fast growing economies to the south helped pull America through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

If helped along the way, Africa could follow the same path to prosperity as Latin America. The average annual GDP of the economies of sub-Saharan Africa was approximately 5% between 1995 and 2011, according to the International Monetary Fund. In contrast, the economies of the G8 would be fortunate to scrap by with less than 2% growth in 2013.

In June of last year, Obama finally unveiled his much anticipated Africa strategy. But the new policy disappointed some Africa watchers, who had anticipated a more innovative approach to U.S.-Africa relations. Released with little fanfare, Obama’s strategy document, entitled U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa, was set aside temporarily due to the presidential election.

Although it’s fair to criticize Obama for being slow off the mark, it’s unwise to dismiss his strategy. To be fair, the strategy offers a comprehensive plan for fostering economic development and democracy in Africa. And Obama seems to understand that Africa holds significant trade and investment opportunities for American companies. But the U.S. has a lot of catching up to do.

During Obama’s first term, China surpassed America as Africa’s largest trading partner. Hungry for natural resources, China has invested heavily in Africa’s extractive industries. And to facilitate trade with Africa, Beijing is helping to develop Africa’s infrastructure, building roads and railway lines.

On the surface, America doesn’t appear capable of challenging Beijing’s dominance in Africa. China is an economic powerhouse with large reserves of cash to be invested abroad. Meanwhile, America’s economy remains weak and the federal government is saddled with massive deficits and an unsustainable national debt. However, there is still hope for the Africa-America relationship.

China is ruled by a brutal Communist regime that blatantly disregards human rights and cares little about poverty reduction in Africa. Despite China’s infrastructure investments in Africa, not as many good jobs for Africans are being generated as you might think. Beijing tends to import Chinese works to work on construction projects, creating resentment among local populations.

The shortcomings of China’s strategy have created an opening for America. Obama has pledged to help Africans “build strong institutions, to remove constraints to trade and investment, and to expand opportunities for African countries to effectively access each other’s markets and global markets, to embrace sound economic governance, and diversify their economies beyond a narrow reliance on natural resources, and—most importantly—create opportunities for Africa’s people to prosper.”

Although the Harper government once eschewed closer ties with Africa in favour of re-engagement with Latin America, Ottawa, like Washington, now recognizes sub-Saharan Africa’s tremendous economic potential. That’s why International Trade Minister Ed Fast led a trade mission to the region this week. And the most important stop on that trip was Nigeria, Africa’s most populace nation.

“Canada’s bilateral merchandise trade with Nigeria reached $2.7 billion in 2011, up nearly 44 percent over 2010,” reads a statement issued by Fast’s office. Accompanied by representative from the extractive and infrastructure sectors, the Trade Minister’s visit to Nigeria focussed on closer cooperation in the oil and mining sectors.

France’s decision to intervene military in the civil war in Mali, a former French colony, to prevent al Qaida linked militants from taking over the country has forced Africa to the top of the international agenda. And the threat that Islamist insurgents pose to the region are putting Obama’s new strategy to the test.

“The United States will seek to expand adherence to the principle of civilian control of the military, and will support strong measures against individuals or groups that threaten legitimately elected governments,” reads the U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa. And yet the U.S. is providing strategic satellite and intelligence assistance to French forces in Mali, which is ruled by an undemocratic regime. The democratically elected Malian government was overthrown in March 2012 by the country’s armed forces, and the Canadian-trained Malian presidential guard was slaughtered in the coup.

The present transitional government in Mali appears to be controlled by the coup leaders. That explains why the Harper government is reluctant to offer the regime more than a C-17 heavy lift aircraft to carry troops, equipment and supplies to Mali for a 30-day period. And Ottawa is adamant that Canada will not join the French-led combat mission to defeat the rebels.

However, the Nigerian government is pressing Ottawa to get more involved in the military campaign to defeat Mali’s Islamist insurgency. The Nigerians’ concern is legitimate. For the past four years, Boko Haram, a radical Islamist group with links to al Qaida, has been waging a bloody sectarian campaign in Nigeria, targeting mostly churches, marketplaces and government buildings.

Nigeria is one of the most important countries in Africa. It plays a leading diplomatic role in peace-building efforts in the Great Lakes region and is the single-largest supplier of peacekeeping troops in the African Union. Nigeria is too big and important to be allowed to fail.

When French and Malian forces eventually put down the rebellion, Ottawa and Washington should redouble their efforts to stabilize the region through closer political, economic and security cooperation.

Follow Geoffrey P. Johnston, a local journalist, on Twitter @GeoffyPJohnston